Devotionals Archives

October 5, 2022October 7, 2022

Be Atoned

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹²He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. ~ Hebrews 9:11–14

Today is Yom Kippur. The day the High Priest would make atonement for himself and all of Israel. He would have to take a very sharp knife and slit the throat of the bull that he had just transferred his and his family’s sins to by the laying on of his hands. The blood would gush out, and then he would have to catch some of the blood in a bowl.

Doubtless to say he would be splashed with blood all over his hands and splashes of blood all over his nice, clean, white linen robe.

There were probably flies buzzing around, and the smell of blood was thick in the air. This showed the people the raw, nasty horror of sin. It taught the people that sin was not some innocent white lie that could be brushed under the rug.

Aaron then took this blood and went into the Holy of Holies as a sin offering for the people of Israel.

While Jesus, on the other hand, did not go into the Most Holy Place with the blood of bulls or goats but with His own blood. For with His own blood, He made atonement for us all.

The innocent for the guilty. The righteous for the unrighteous. The Holy for the unholy. Jesus paid it all. In fact, He didn’t just pay our debt; He gave us more. He gave us His Holy Spirit, who is now transforming us into the Image of God that was lost in the Garden of Eden.

Christ gave us His all. He set aside His Godliness, became a man, and died the cruel death in place of the people nailing Him to the cross. It was His blood that was shed that made atonement for our sins. It wasn’t anything we could ever do that could save us. So, the least we could do is show Him we are thankful for His sacrifice by living for Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Atoned.

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Beware The Ungodly Distraction

²After some years he (King Jehoshaphat) went down to Ahab in Samaria. And Ahab killed an abundance of sheep and oxen for him and for the people who were with him and induced him to go up against Ramoth-gilead. ³Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to Ramoth-gilead?” He answered him, “I am as you are, my people as your people. We will be with you in the war.” ~ 2 Chronicles 18:2–3

Ahab did not come up to Jehoshaphat, but rather, Jehoshaphat went down to Ahab. Please understand sin is not attracted to Godliness, but rather, Godliness is distracted by sin. Sin will pull and pull until it drags you down to where it is. It will cause you to lose your mind and your sense of direction.

Ahab then convinced Jehoshaphat to go into the war wearing his royal garments while he himself would go in disguise. So, when the enemy saw Jehoshaphat, they immediately thought it was Ahab, king of Israel, and turned to attack him, but when he cried out, they turned and stopped chasing him. So, his life was only narrowly spared.

The problem with ungodly alliances is that they will take you further than you want to go and cause you to make the wrong decisions without even realizing that it is against God’s earthly will for your life.

Just as Jehoshaphat didn’t expect to almost lose his life in an alliance with King Ahab, so do many Christians expect not to lose their spiritual life in an alliance with sin and darkness. We’re in the battle, in the real enemies’ clothes, instead of our spiritual armor. So, what happens? We’re attacked and chased. This is where the Church is. We’re on the brink of death. The enemy has us in his sights. There’s no escape that we can see. It’s time for us to cry out to Jesus. That is the only way we will be spared. Cry out and live. Jesus is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life. Turn to Him and live. Wake up from your spiritual slumber caused by the deceit of the enemy.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Get Out of Bed With the Enemy.

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Beware of Self-Preservation

¹ Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor, and he made a marriage alliance with Ahab. ~ 2 Chronicles 18:1

God was blessing King Jehoshaphat in all that he did. He had no need to get into bed with King Ahab, and yet, he saw it necessary to forge a marriage alliance with him. Ahab was a very wicked king. A Godless king. A spoiled brat who had no regard for God or man, as plain to see when his wife Jezebel murdered Naboth, and he gladly took over his vineyard. But because of fear for self-preservation, King Jehoshaphat jumped into bed with the enemy of God.

Fear is the opposite of faith, and fear will make you do unreasonable things. When fear sets in, it will cause you to act without thinking, and self-preservation then becomes the name of the game.

The Scriptures often warn against fear. The Bible plainly states, “Fear not, for I am with you. I will fight for you. I will defend you.”

Yet king Jehoshaphat, acting in fear, took matters into his own hands and got the granddaughter of King Omri and the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel to be the bride of his son, thus forming an alliance between the two nations.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Beware of Self-Preservation.

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His Sprinkled Blood

¹¹But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) ¹²He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. ¹³For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, ¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. ~ Hebrews 9:11-14

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is easily Israel’s most High Holy Day. It is a day of fasting and mourning. The Scriptures say it is a day to afflict yourself. It was the day that the sins of the nation were atoned for with the blood of bulls and goats. The High Priest presented this sacrifice in the Most Holy Place once a year before the LORD. They had to repeat this every year because the blood of bulls and goats could never cleanse us of our sins. It could never redeem us from death and give us life. So, God got off of His throne and presented His own blood on the altar for our sins so that we might be washed clean. So that we could be forgiven. The LORD Himself shed His blood for us. Never forget that. Never overlook that. God Himself died for us so that we might live.

How often do we spend time with God? How often do we pray and seek Him? He paid our debt, yet the majority of the time, we would rather spend time watching tv, reading books, playing games, and almost any other distraction the world has to offer than spending time with God. How can we expect to accept Jesus’ sacrifice and then keep living our lives as if He doesn’t exist? Jesus did all of the heavy lifting; the least we can do is spend time with Him and show Him that we are thankful for His sprinkled blood.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Thank Him for His sacrifice.

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Prepare The Way

³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.” ~ Isaiah 40:3^NKJV

2,000 years ago, John the Baptist proudly went before the LORD, preparing a way for Him. When Jesus came, He brought with Him salvation, healing, peace, and life. Today, the world is getting darker and darker. It’s time we took up the mantle. The darkness is so thick that even the Church has begun to accept that this is just the way it is, but even though Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin was great and plenty, God was willing to spare the nation and all the wicked for just 10 righteous men for the sake of Abraham’s request.

Too often, we, Christians, accept defeat. We accept that things are just the way they are, and there’s nothing we can do to change it. But our voice is greater than even that of John the Baptist, for when we don’t know what to say, the Spirit speaks on our behalf. He speaks for us and through us. The time for silence is no more. Now is the time to prepare the way for the LORD and cry out like a voice in the wilderness.

We have the very Spirit of God Himself dwelling in us. Prepare the way with His light as it shines through us, piercing this present darkness. Prepare the way for the LORD and His Holy Spirit to melt the heart of the people who hear you speaking the Truth. The LORD hasn’t returned yet. There’s still time to change the course of the world. There’s still time to cry, just a little while longer, Jesus, so that we might get our loved ones in. There’s still time to shine the light in the darkness and prepare the way for the LORD to work in the lives of people. No one is too small or unimportant to do something. It only takes one straw to break the camel’s back. It only takes one pebble to start an avalanche. Only one domino to know over all the dominoes. So, use your voice while you still can to proclaim righteousness, speak Truth, and expose the darkness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare The Way.

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Pray For The Forgotten

⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. ~ Matthew 25:44-46

As the Church, we are called to be prayer warriors, each and every one of us. We’re supposed to pray for ourselves so that we might not fall into temptation. For our loved ones so that they might be saved or faithfully run the race set before them. But often times we leave out the forgotten. We forget about those Christians in the persecuted Church. We forget to pray for their strength and endurance. We forget them altogether.

This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but this is one of the reasons that Jesus separates the goats from the sheep. Jesus isn’t just talking about physically visiting the saints in prison, but spiritually visiting them. When we pray, we are spiritually seated with Christ in Heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-7). Therefore, wouldn’t it stand to reason that when we pray for others, we are spiritually with them as well? Paul even writes to the Corinthians that he’s with them in spirit in 1 Corinthians 5:3. We are all one in Christ Jesus, connected by one Spirit; therefore, when we pray for each other, we are connected by that same spirit.

Don’t let anyone be alone in persecution. Pray for the forgotten in those persecuting nations for strength and endurance. Pray that their hearts might not fail them, and that love may encompass them.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pray For The Forgotten.

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Walk Through The Fire

³⁶ And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.” ~ Genesis 42:36

Jacob, after losing his favorite son, Joseph, lost Simeon, and then he felt like he was about to lose Benjamin if he sent him down to Egypt with his brothers to buy grain. He did not realize that by obeying, by going through his Ziklag, he would have all of his sons back from the dead, including Joseph.

Sometimes that which looks like it will destroy us is exactly what God uses to give us back all that the Devil has stolen from us. The key is that we have to face it. We have to endure it. We have to remember what Joseph said about his Ziklag, about his mountain. What [the Devil] intended for our evil, God uses for our good.

So, if you’re going through a trying or difficult time. Hold on to the LORD. Walk boldly through the fire because the LORD is with us, even in the flames.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk Through The Fire.

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Only Take Back The Good

¹²Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. ¹³You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. ~ Jeremiah 29:12–14

This is a call for the wayward Israelites to return to God, and God will come to them and save them and take them back to the place He had promised them. We have a promise from God. One day Jesus will split the eastern sky and come back to get us, that where He is, there we will be also. Therefore, all men ought to pray and seek God before that great and terrible day for all who are left behind because great and small will cry out in fear as they see the Lamb seated on His glorious throne.

Let today be a day to seek the LORD so that He might restore you to all that the Devil has stolen. All of your hopes, dreams, promises, and, most of all, your peace. Let today be a day to return to the LORD all that you’ve taken from Him. All of your fears, worries, anxieties, and strongholds. Lay all of that at His feet. He paid the price for your freedom and for you to live life more abundantly. Don’t take the heavy yoke back from the LORD when He promised He would carry it for you. Leave it at His feet and take love, joy, peace, and every good gift the LORD has for you.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Only Take Back The Good.

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Prepare For The Trumpet

¹ Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, ~ Joel 2:1

If we look around at all that is going on, we’ll see good is called evil, and evil is called good. The Name of Jesus is being blasphemed even in His own Church. Members of the Body of Christ are living according to the flesh. They’re living as if they will not have to give an account to the judge of the whole world. People care more for trees and animals than they care for human life. Little babies still in the womb are being murdered daily because they are not even seen as human, and it’s all done with the approval and encouragement of world governments. They call it a woman’s right to choose, while God sees it as child sacrifice. We are sacrificing our children just as those ancient civilizations sacrificed their children.

The warning blasts of the trumpet of God are sounding in the spiritual, warning His church to get ready to meet Him in the air. As a matter of fact, there are reports worldwide of people hearing the sound of trumpet blasts. So many people have reported the strange sounds that it has even made the news. We are closer now more than ever to the return of Jesus. There’re signs all around that His return is soon at hand. Are you ready for His return? Is your family ready for His return? As the Ten Days of Awe continue, take today out to pray and intercede on behalf of your unsaved loved ones so that when Jesus returns, they might be caught up to meet Him in the sky as well.

LORD God, I stand in the gap for each and every one of my unsaved loved ones. I pray that You would unveil their eyes and unclog their ears so that they might hear Your gentle knock at the door of their hearts. I pray that You might hear my plea for them and answer my prayer as You promised that You would throughout the Scriptures. I pray that You might replace their heart of stone with a heart of flesh and renew a right spirit within them. Awaken their sleeping spirit within them. I pray that when You return, all of my loved ones and I might be doing the work You have called us to do. Please guide and protect each one of us. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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Seek In The Days of Awe

²³And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ²⁴“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. ²⁵You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.” ~ Leviticus 23:23–25

It’s believed that today, Rosh Hashanah, God looks down on all of mankind and takes special note of our behavior, attitude, and our relationship with Him. It’s also the day when He decides who will live and who will die that year.

Therefore, the next ten days, the Days of Awe, which will culminate on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), is a time of reflection and self-evaluation. It’s a day of paying special attention to things you have done that aren’t right. People you may have hurt and need forgiveness for. Areas where you need improvement. In other words, it is time for spiritual realignment with God. It would do us well to do the same, not just on this day alone, but every day of the year, to make sure we are living right and the way God expects us to live.

It’s so easy for us to get caught up in the world because the grass tends to look greener on the other side. We often feel like we’re missing out on something but let these next 10 days (starting today) be days to truly seek the LORD and all that He has in store for each and every one of us because there is nothing on God’s beautiful green earth that can compare to what God has for us in eternity with Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Seek In The Days of Awe.

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